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Author Topic: Your top 5 session tunes are...?  (Read 10339 times)

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oread_uk

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Your top 5 session tunes are...?
« on: November 30, 2011, 05:15:22 PM »

At the M@W Friday night session, I realised how woefully dismal my knowledge of 'standard' session tunes is... :|bl  I managed to join in 'Speed the plough' (Maj and min), LNB polka (the bits not played on the nose flute), Schottische a Bethanie and Princess Royal.... I think that was it!!

If you were going to recommend 5 session tunes for me to put some energy into learning, what would they be?  Then maybe by next year's M@W I might not have to resort to air melodeon  ;D

Liz  (:)
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Re: Your top 5 session tunes are...?
« Reply #1 on: November 30, 2011, 05:41:05 PM »

This is always terribly difficult because there are so many different types of sessions, and one session's idea of a hackneyed  old warhorse is another's really cool new tune or even completely unknown.
Leaving out the song sessions... for one thing, there are English and Irish music sessions with quite different repertoire. Then there are 'easy' sessions for beginners, and more advanced sessions where good musicians take a pride in bringing along new tunes for others to learn and the standard well known tunes aren't played much. And there are regional biases - you'll find different tunes popular in the North and South, and many much smaller local variations.

So let's try for safest in a mostly English music session, in terms of likelihood of others knowing the tune...
- Princess Royal
- Galopede
- Jenny Lind Polka
- Oyster Girl
- Harvest Home
- Uncle Bernard's Polka

I wouldn't call them my top 5 - I haven't played any of them for weeks...
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Re: Your top 5 session tunes are...?
« Reply #2 on: November 30, 2011, 06:02:49 PM »

I wouldn't call them my top 5 - I haven't played any of them for weeks...
And of course because there are six.  ;)
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oread_uk

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Re: Your top 5 session tunes are...?
« Reply #3 on: November 30, 2011, 06:31:49 PM »

Ha ha  ;D

I know it's difficult... and even sessions that are for 'English tunes' end up with other things creeping in  (:)

I suppose rather than top tunes, I kind of mean 'commonly played' at English sessions...

That gives me a starter though Anahata.
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Rob2Hook

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Re: Your top 5 session tunes are...?
« Reply #4 on: November 30, 2011, 06:41:34 PM »

And a few more:

Coconut Dance/Three around Three/Double Lead Through
Walter Bulwar's No 1/Walter Bulwar's No 2
Rosin the Beau/Pantheon Cotillion
The Plane Tree/Herbert the Sherbet
Cock o'the North/100 Pipers

Mostly nicked from the morris and ceilidh bands, but they go nicely as medlies and give you some practice at changing tunes.

Rob.
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Theo

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Re: Your top 5 session tunes are...?
« Reply #5 on: November 30, 2011, 07:27:03 PM »

Just to emphasise the regional aspect none of the tunes mentioned so far get played much in the sessions around Tuneside, though most of them would be recognised.
Some local favourites of mine include:

Jamie Allan, salmon tails, because he was a bonny lad, lads of Alnwick, Miss Thompsons hornpipe, Hesleyside reel,

But there are 100s more


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TomB

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Re: Your top 5 session tunes are...?
« Reply #6 on: November 30, 2011, 07:34:07 PM »

Good idea to Google 'popular English session tunes' or something similar. You should get a flavour of what people are playing around the sessions. Here's one to get you going:
http://www.shrewsburyfolkfestival.co.uk/bm~doc/sff-tunebook.pdf
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oread_uk

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Re: Your top 5 session tunes are...?
« Reply #7 on: November 30, 2011, 07:40:20 PM »

Thanks - great suggestions so far - some I've never heard of and now need to check out :-)  I'd not really thought about learning tunes that work together as medleys but it makes perfect sense to work on them that way.  And the tune book is useful too.

Should I just accept that it's going to take me many more years to build up my knowledge  :Ph
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Ollie

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Re: Your top 5 session tunes are...?
« Reply #8 on: November 30, 2011, 07:42:43 PM »

Most of the sessions I go to are at festivals (not really a fan of the local ones), and these are tunes that I've heard come up several times at sessions over the last few summers.

Harper's Frolic/Bonny Kate - very popular set
Salmon Tails
(The Moon and the) Seven Stars
Michael Turner's Waltz
Jack Robinson

You've already got a pretty good base. However, Princess Royal and Speed the Plough (in particular) don't tend to get played much because everybody plays them... if you see what I mean?
If you're looking at an English repertoire, have a look at the different tune sets Spiers & Boden play, as they're generally a safe bet. Similarily, I'd recommend getting either of Nick Barber's English session tunebooks, as they're a great source of common and interesting tunes.
Also, get down to local sessions more regularly and start trying to pick things up by ear.
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Ebor_fiddler

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Re: Your top 5 session tunes are...?
« Reply #9 on: November 30, 2011, 09:47:53 PM »

The Sloe
Salmon Tails
Oh Joe
Mr and Mrs Mickey Mouse
Babes in the Wood
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Re: Your top 5 session tunes are...?
« Reply #10 on: November 30, 2011, 10:00:38 PM »

I wouldn't call them my top 5 - I haven't played any of them for weeks...
And of course because there are six.  ;)

 (:) There were going to be many more but I was in a hurry as I had to go out soon...
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Re: Your top 5 session tunes are...?
« Reply #11 on: November 30, 2011, 11:23:18 PM »

Most people at an English session will have heard Spiers and Boden so as Ollie says, playing any tunes that they've played is a safe bet. Plus they are great tunes! I played a few S&B tunes at my local last week, which nobody knew because they're all philistines. I ended up saying "see if this was a session in England..." before I knew what I was saying :P
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Re: Your top 5 session tunes are...?
« Reply #12 on: December 01, 2011, 08:17:43 AM »

Best of all is just to go alongregularly  to your local session  and listen, listen, listen.  Record too if the folk there don't mind.  Half the fun of sessions is the process of learning a repertoire and yes that takes time,  in fact it never stops.
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george garside

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Re: Your top 5 session tunes are...?
« Reply #13 on: December 01, 2011, 01:47:29 PM »

As others have said  there can be regional differences and also  many small(ish) regular sessions tend to stick to their own repertoire more or less (exept when somebody decides to play something different)

When leading large sessions I use a back up 'crib sheet' with over 100 tunes on it  and even this does not cover many of the suggestions that players make.'

just a very small sample of tunes played last year at my sessions in Whitby

in no particular order

100 pipers athol highlanders  banks & braes of bonnie doon
blaydon races , british grenadiers, girl with blue dress on, keel row, michael turners waltz, off to california, oyster gi;rl, rakes of mallow, roxburgh castle, speed the plough, soldiers joy, harvest home, jamie allen,lrattling bog, huntsmans choru;s, ryans polka, slocket light;,   brighton camp, oh suzannah, waltzing matilda, clik go the shears etc etc etc



The key thing, to me, about session playing is to join in - play the odd note here & there & don't worry about having to learn the whole tune before going to a session. Just play the bits you can wherever they are in a tune & gradually you will find yourself playing longer bits  or even whole tunes taht you didn't know you knew

george :||: :|||: :Ph :|glug
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oread_uk

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Re: Your top 5 session tunes are...?
« Reply #14 on: December 01, 2011, 05:33:57 PM »

Many, many, different tunes :-)  Being based up Norf, my favourite tunes are all very dark and sinister, and generally in Em  >:E 

Thanks for all the suggestions - there's a few tunes in your various suggestions that have cropped up in various sessions, so I think I'll start with a couple that I vaguely know.

George - I find it difficult sometimes to hear what my box is doing when there are others around.  I'm always afraid that if I'm not sure of the tune, I'll think that I'm doing ok but actually be playing 2 buttons down  :|bl   Although maybe I could sell it as an alternative harmony....  ;D
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Graham Spencer

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Re: Your top 5 session tunes are...?
« Reply #15 on: December 01, 2011, 07:08:32 PM »

 Although maybe I could sell it as an alternative harmony....  ;D

Ah, harmony on the "any note except the tune" principle.  Worked for Miles Davis and Thelonious Monk......
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Lyn

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Re: Your top 5 session tunes are...?
« Reply #16 on: December 01, 2011, 07:24:48 PM »

Hi Liz...

at our 'infiltrated Irish session' ie we slip more and more English and French tunes in when we get the chance, the regular ones are as follows:

Yep good old Winster Gallop/Jamie Allan/salmon tails. (played as a set so counts as one.)
Old Lancashire Hornpipe
Michael Turners/ L'inconnu d'Limoise (yeah I know it's a a cultural shock!)
Oyster Girl/ Girl with a blue dress on
Rusty Gully (Aka 3 Rusty swords)
Not that they would all be my favourites, but I think they are a useful little 'bundle' (as we say these days).I mostly play these on fiddle but can do some on box.

At The Big Accordian Weekend they played - several times - Josephine Butterfield which I LOVED and must try and learn, and the CEG which I am drooling about just thinking about it. Beautiful.

 From the MAW session I wrote down SO I WOULD NOT FORGET : All in a Garden Green/ Mount Hills /Sussex Cotillion /and Steamboat Hornpipe, none of which I knew, but have managed to find some of them on youtube. But not playing them yet! 4-Up I haven't managed to find, Lester played it and I did like it very much. Ah yes, I have written down the 'Orotava Waltz' which I believe I must beg Jan or Steve for the dots as I'd never heard it before and liked it. No sign of it on T'internet either - unless you know otherwise!

Lordy Lordy, I have rambled on at some length, so unlike me! ::)





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Lester

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Re: Your top 5 session tunes are...?
« Reply #17 on: December 01, 2011, 07:27:24 PM »

4-Up I haven't managed to find, Lester played it and I did like it very much.

X:134
T:Four Up
M:4/4
L:1/8
K:Em
E2 EF G2 GA|BA GB-BA G2|A2 AB AG F2|E2 F2 G2 F2|
E2 EF G2 GA|BA GB-BA G2|A2 AB AG F2|G2 F2 E4:||
cc cc-cc c2|BA GB-BA G2|A2 AB AG F2|G2 A2 B4|
cc cc-cc c2|BA GB-BA G2|A2 AB AG F2|G2 F2 E4:|]

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Re: Your top 5 session tunes are...?
« Reply #18 on: December 01, 2011, 07:32:17 PM »

Oh! and the OrotaBa Waltz

X: 1
T: Orotaba Waltz
M: 3/4
L: 1/8
R: waltz
K: Gmaj
dc|B2D2D2|G4AB|A2E2E2|A4G2|F2A2c2|f4ef|e2d2d2|d4dc|
B2D2D2|G4AB|A2E2E2|A4de|f2e2d2|cF3A2|G3 A GF|G4BA|
G2B2c2|d2g3g|f2A2B2|c4fg|f2A2B2|c4ef|e2d2d2|d4BA|
G2B2c2|d2g3g|f2A2B2|c4de|f2e2d2|cF3A2|G3 A GF|G4:|

george garside

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Re: Your top 5 session tunes are...?
« Reply #19 on: December 01, 2011, 07:50:46 PM »

George - I find it difficult sometimes to hear what my box is doing when there are others around.  I'm always afraid that if I'm not sure of the tune, I'll think that I'm doing ok but actually be playing 2 buttons down  :|bl   Although maybe I could sell it as an alternative harmony....  ;D

I think this  happens to all of us and something you get used to. Cocking the head to one side to point an ear directly at the box can help.  In many ways the bigger the session the less damage anybody can do by getting it wrong here & there . Fear of cocking the session up is often used as an excuse to not play nut  tootling about fairly quietly with the tunes you are not quite sure off is fairly harmless!

On one occasion we played soldiers joy in D in a sesion I was supposed to be leading.  I knew something was not quite right but we were halfway through the tune before I realised that I was playing it if G, jus tbecause the fingers had landed on the wrong row so to speak.   The 50 or more  players in the session were all getting on with it in D . At the end of the tune I apologised  for cocking it up a bit  and more or less everybody said they never noticed  anything untoward. Which just goes to show how difficult it is to do any real damage in a fairly large session - but of course  its easier to  do in a small session!

george
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